eickershoff



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. H. EIGKERSHOPP.

COMPOUND ENGINE.

No. 441,947. Patented Dec. 2, 1890.

(No Model.)

I 3 SheetsSheet 2. J. H. EIOKERSHOPP. COMPOUND ENGINE.

Patented Dec. 2, 1890 J1 ttest:

Inventor:

Jttorngz we mums PETERS no, wormumm, WASHINGTON a. c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. H. EIOKERSHOFF. COMPOUND ENGINE.

No. 441,947. Patented Dec. 2, 1890.

we NORRIS versus 00., PMOYOLIYHOW msmmnron, o. c

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN

ll. EICKERSHOFF, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE TRIUMPH COMPOUNDENGINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

COMPOUND ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 441,947, dat d Dcembel2, 1890- Application filed January 30, 1890. Serial No. 338,600. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN H. EICKERSHOFF, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cincinnati, Ohio, have invented new and use- 5 fulImprovements in Compound Engines, of

which the following is a specification;

My invention relates to compound engines of the single-acting type, inwhich two or more cylinders are employed in similar relal tions to acommon crank-shaft. In such engines, and especially in the type fullydescribed by me in Letters Patent No.'407,184, issued July 16, 1889, thefinal exhaust of each low-pressure cylinder was into the crank-case, Iexcepting only in those cases where independent valve-gear operated inthe ordinary manner by the main shaft was provided. The expense andcomplexity of outside valvegear renders the same objectionable. It isalso found objectionable to carry the exhauststeam into the crank-caseon account of the exposed pitman-connections in the pistons, whichsuffer in respect to lubrication,besides which in the latter case acondenser cannot be employed.

The object of my present invention is to obviate these difficulties; andit consists in an application of the principle of the valvelessconstruction illustrated in my aforesaid 3o patent (as there applied tothe initial use and expansion of steam-that is to say, of perforatingthe pistons and utilizing them, in connection with suitable lateralports in the cylinder, to govern the distribution of steam to 5 andbetween the cylinderslto the final exameter, such as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a vertical elevation ofthree cylinders of an engine of the type indicated, sectioned in thecommon axial plane of the cylinders, constructed according to my presentimprovement; Fig. 2, a vertical axial section of the central cylindertransverse to the V plane of Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4, horizontal sections,respectively, in the planes J: and y of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an axialcross-section of a similar cylinder of a triple-expansion engine,showing the principle of the invention applied thereto; Fig. 6, avertical section, in the common axial plane of the three cylinders, of aslight modification in structure designed more particularly tofacilitate the application of the present improvement to an existingengine of the same general type having its exhaust into the crank-case,the application being, by way of alteration, without radical changes ofstructure; and Fig. 7, a horizontal section in the plane .6 of Fig. 5 infurther illustration of the construction last referred. to. The class ofengines within the general type referred to which I have selected forthe illustration of my invention is represented by a three-cylinderdouble-expansion singleacting engine; but it may be employed with equalfacility and benefit in engines of any number of expansions, and,indeed, in other types of single-acting compound engines.

The general features of the engine are three cylinders A, B, and C, eachof differential diameters in successive axial portions of theirlength,providedwith plunger-pistons D E F, of corresponding differentialdiainetcrs,operating steam-tight in the cylinders, respectively, andcarryinga pitman P, pivoted within each piston and operating through itsopen end upon one of the cranks of a common crank-shaft in a crank-casein which the crank-shaft is journaled. The cranks are of course set atequal radial angles apart.

The general construction of the engine in respect to the admission ofsteam to the respective cylinders and its expansion from one LettersPatentreferred to.

initial cylinder in which it has completed its 1 a one of the smallerpistons upon duly registering with opposite side ports of its cylinderto a passage leading to a side port of an adja cent similar cylinder isbyaside opening and connecting vertical passage in thesecond I 5 pistonpermitted to flow into said last-named cylinder above the piston, thereto exert its initial pressure in driving said piston downward. Indescending the same piston side opening by which thelive steam wasadmitted to said second cylinder registers with another side port(termed the expansion-port?) of said cylinder in line below the first(or admission port, and the steam-content of the cylinder, havingperformed its initial work,

2 5 now fiows downward through the same pistonpassage and opening bywhich it entered through the now re istering cylinderport and anexpansion-passage extending over to the top of the larger or expansionend of the 0 third cylinder in series, whereit operates by furtherexpansion upon the lower and larger section of said third piston vIn'saidformerconstruction, as I have already intimated, the

final exhaust of steam took place directly into the crank-case orbymeansof outside valve-gearcontrollingseparate eduction valve or valvesinto the atmosphere or condenser.

. .dVIy present improvement, however, governs the exhaust in practicallythe same'manner 40 as above described for the admission, but in reverse,as I will now describe.

Referringnowto the drawings, a designates the side port of thehigh-pressure piston, ex-

tended by a vertical passage 1) within and 5 through the top of thepiston, through which live steam is primarily admitted to thehighpressure cylinder and subsequently on the downstroke expandedoverthroughthe side or expansion port 0 of the cylinder and itsextending passage (Z to the adjacent low-press ure cylinder.

In my present improvement I provide a port 6, opposite to andcorresponding with the expansion-port 0, opening, however, into 5 5 acommon exhaust-passage f, which may lead to a condenser or into theatmosphere. Through the piston below its admission-opening a and in aposition to register with'the cylinder-ports c and 6 when near the upperlimit of its stroke I provide a transverse pas- 7 Thus when thepiston-passage 9 con-.

sage g. nects the opposite cylinder-ports c and e a free openingto theexhaust is afforded for the. .adjacent expansion cylinder backwardthrough its receiving expansion-passage d for the exhaust of the steamafter its work is completed in the expansion-cylinder. As the cranks areset 'one hundred and twenty degrees apart, it will be seen that as onepiston completes its downstroke and is in position to begin the exhaustthe adjacent piston begins the last third of its upstroke, and thatwhile the exhausting-piston is traveling from the beginning to the endof its return or exhaust stroke the adjacent piston travels the .lastthird of. its upstroke and the first third of a succeeding downstroke,covering only the upper one-third of its cylinder in the time occupiedby the entire travel of the exhausting-piston. An opportunity is thusgiven for utilizing each piston as a controlling-valve for the finaleduction of steam from an adjacent cylinder, and this opportunity Iavail myself of in the present improvement. I utilize for this purposethe expansion-port c and passage d, therebyeconornizing in the initialcost of construction both in labor and material. The-duration of theopening and the point of closure for compression may be exactlyregulated by duly proportioningthe vertical and lateral dimensions ofthe portapertures and their relative vertical position in relation tothe limits of stroke.

In order to economize space in the passage d, I place the cylinder-portc as low down as possible, which, as it aitects the position of thepiston-passage g, may bring said passage somewhat into the larger orexpansion cylinder at the extremity of the downstroke, as shown in theright and left hand cylinders of Fig. 1; but this is notdetrimental,since the opening. enters the cylinder at about the point of time whenthe expansion ceases and the exhaust begins 7 I. further proportion theparts so that a final compression on the upstroke of theexpansion-piston fills the passage (Z to a pressure equal to that of thenext succeeding expansion, so that the space is practically neutralizedso far as it might otherwise be detrimental in unduly enlarging theexpansion-space. This also effects a slight gain in economy over theformer structures on which this is an improvement, ,as there are noseparate exhaust-spaces to be filled by the expansion-steamgconsequently a higher compression is obtainable.

In applying the construction principle of the invention totriple-expansion engines each cylinder and piston ,is constructed asillustrated in Fig. 5,in which a third enlargement of both cylinder andpiston is added, as at A and F. In this case an additional steam-passaged is provided, entering the side of the intermediate cylinder A at-aport 0, andla piston side port a is provided, opening by a verticalpassage 1) through the top of the in- I The exhaust-passage being apractical reduplication of that al- ITS . ready described as applied tothe added parts,

the mode of operation will be obvious without further description.

The construction exhibited in Figs. U and 7, being merely a mode ofapplication of the invention to existing structures of the general type,presupposes the existence of an exhaust-port h at one side of eachexpansioncylinder and also a passage 1 leading thence to the top of theadjacent expansion-cylinder, the exhaust taking place in such case fromthe top of one expansion-cylinder downward through the passage t' andport it (as the latter was uncovered by the rise of its governing-pi'ston) through the open lower end of the adjacent cylinder intothe crank-case.

The change to my improvement consists, first, in lengthening theexpansion-piston by an additional section, as indicated in the drawings,from the dotted line 19 downward a sufficient distance to maintain apacking-ring always below the side exhaust-port h, which is thus neveruncovered by the lower edge of the piston in r sing. The additionalsection of the piston is provided with a lateral circumferential openpassage j, (shown in Fig. 6,) extending around to the rear of thepiston, where (and corresponding to the port h) a port is cut in thecylinder (constituting the second change) and suitable pipe attachmentsmade to a common exhaust-pipe Z. The construction is clearly shown inFig. 6, wherein the cylinders are sectioned through both ports h 7e andthe pistons are sectioned through the connecting-passagej.

It may be that the lengthening of the piston, as described, will causeit to project into the crank-case in its downward stroke and carry theexhaust-passage 3' into the crankcase; but this is not material. Vhilethe construction is a practical realization of my invention, that firstdescribed is to be preferred for new work for obvious reasons of economyin construction and maintenance.

It will be apparent that the control of the exhaust by the pistons inthe manner indicated may be employedindependently in e11- gines of thisgeneral type where the admission and expansion of steam are controlledby independent valves. Itwill also be understood that the invention maybe applied to horizontal engines, to any number of cylinders, or engineshavingprovision for any n umber of expansions.

I claim as my invention and desire to se' cure by Letters Patent of theUnited States 1. In a multiple-expansion steam-engine embodying threecylinders, each of different-a1 diameters, ports and passagesconnectingsaid cylinders for the initial distribution and intermediate expansionof steam, ports and passages for the final outward exhaust of steamwholly independent of the crank case, and plunger-pistons fitted to saidcylinders and provided with corresponding ports and passages, combinedwith triple crank-shaft and pitman connections, whereby thedistribution, expansion, and final exhaust of steam outwardindependently of the crank-case are wholly effected and controlled bysaid pluuger-pistons, substantially as set forth.

2. In a multiple expansion single-acting engine of two or morecylinders, each of two or more diameters in successive portions of thelength and fitted with corresponding pistons, an exhaust-opening at thereceiving end of the ultimate enlargement of a cylinder, a passageconnecting the same with a port in the side of an adjacent cylinder, asecond port in said last-named cylinder, and a pas sage in or throughthe piston of said lastnamed cylinder, bridging and connecting saidlast-named ports simultaneously at a given portion of the stroke,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a multiple-expansion single-acting engine of two or morecylinders, each extended by successive enlargements intoexpansioncylinders, a port in the side of the last intermediateexpansion-cylinder extended by a passage to the receiving end of anadjacent ultimate expansion-cylinder, a second port at the side of theintermediate expansion-cylinder, and a transverse passage in or throughthe piston adapted to register with and connect the said twocylinder-ports with the extension-passage on the upstroke of the pisston, substantially as set forth.

4. In a 1nultiple-expansion single-acting engine of two or more maincylinders, each extendedby successive enlargements eonstitut' ingexpansion-cylinders, an expansion-port in the side of a lastintermediate expansion-cylinder extended by a passage to the receivingend of the ultimate enlargement of an adjacent main cylinder, aplunger-piston in each main cylinder adapted to its successive e11-largements and having a passage in the last intermediate enlargementadapted to register with said expansion-port and effect the expansionfrom a last intermediate expansioncyliuder into an ultimate enlargementof an adjacent main cylinder on the upstroke of the piston, anexhaust-port at the side of said intermediate expansion-cylin:ler, and atransverse passage in or through said intermediate piston enlargementbeyond and in line with the expansion port or passage thereimadapted toregister with and connect the cylinder expansion-port and the oppositeexhaust-port on the instroke of the piston, substantially as set forth.

5. In a double-expansion single-acting engine of two or more maincylinders, each of two differential diameters, having correspondingplunger-pistons operating a common crankshaft, a side opening in thehigh-pressure piston extended within and through its top, acorresponding side port in the high-pressure cylinder for the admissionof live steam on the upstroke through the side opening of the piston,an, expansion-port in said cylin- 4' annex? der, a passage eonneetinsaid expansion- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set port With thenext adjacent low-pressure cylmy hand in the presence of two subscribinginder, a second cylinder-port in the highwitnesses. pressure cylinderopening to the exhaust-pas- 5 sage, and a transverse passage through theJOHN H. EIOKER-SHOFF.

high-pressure piston beneath the steain-admission opening, adapted toregister on the Vitnesses: upstroke with and connect the expansion-JAMES C. HOBART, port and exhaust-ports of the cylinder, snb- L. M.HOSEA.

1o stantially as set forth.

